20100224 0920 Malaysia Corporate News.

The Cabinet will decide on the new electricity tariff tomorrow, says Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui. He said his ministry had submitted a proposal paper to the EPU in the PM’s department. “If the Cabinet approves, there will be some increase, it can’t be a reduction,” he said. (Bernama)
Tomorrow's tariff decision is timely and consistent with the mid-Feb time frame suggested by Tenaga’s management during its post-1QFY10 results briefing in mid-Jan. We hold the view that it will most likely be status quo for power tariffs tomorrow given stable gas and coal prices in 2H09 and the recovering economy. We also think that the best way for a base tariff hike to happen is to slip one in during a fuel-led tariff adjustment.

CIMB Group expects a higher net profit this year after a stellar 2009, to be driven by stronger earnings from its regional operations, a more vibrant capital market and a better economy. CIMB is aiming for a higher 16% ROE this year, up from 2009’s 15%. "We had a very good 2009, financially as well as in the overall development of our regional franchise. Our regional model remains 'work-in-progress' and we are determined to realise its full potential over the next few years," group CEO Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said. (BT)

CIMB Group said it will wait till the global discussion on banks' capital requirement is over before it decides what to do with its excess capital. CEO Datuk Seri Nazir Razak had last year said that it may consider returning its excess capital once the fear of global recession subsides this year. "(Although) I don't think Basel 3 is embedded, there are still some worries.

• A stronger view will surface from the emerging market banks to question the extreme treatment (after the financial crisis)." Basel 3 is not really a concern for Malaysian banks at this stage, he said. (BT)

AXA Affin General Insurance has received the approval from Bank Negara to acquire 80% of BH Insurance (M) from Boustead Holdings and 20% from Felda Marketing Services Sdn Bhd. "It is a very good opportunity for us to build a stronger presence for general insurance in Asia," said AXA Asia General Insurance CEO Jan van den Berg.

• "The business portfolio and market sectors of the two companies complement each other and the combined strengths will reinforce our position in the market," said AXA Affin CEO Jahanath Muthusamy. (Bernama)

The Securities Commission (SC) will soon be making amendments to the guidelines for the unit trust industry to allow for greater flexibility and choices to meet investors’ needs, said chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar. The SC chief said that among the key changes was allowing multiple currencies for unit trust funds. Timing-wise, she said, “It’s being worked on and as soon as we get the amendments ready, the SC will be publishing it.” (Starbiz)

The property market is set to rebound this year, according to an online poll by Malaysian property website, iProperty.com.Malaysia. The pool also showed that 34% of respondents expect prices to increase 1-9%. (Bernama)

Malaysian mills are hoping to raise rebar prices to track increases in the global market, according to market participants. “We are hoping to increase prices shortly. After all, international prices are rising,” an official at one Malaysian mill said. “The Chinese new year festive season is over, so there will be no more distractions. Several projects will be coming back (for material),” an official at another mill said.

• But demand in the first week after the holiday has been sluggish, according to market participants, and mills continue to list rebar at RM2,000-2,100 per tonne, unchanged from two weeks ago. “As yet, we haven’t seen any significant rise in demand,” a Singapore-based steel trader with operations in Malaysia said. (Metal Bulletin)

More licenses would be granted to small and medium enterprises in the telecom industry to encourage their involvement, particularly the mobile segment, said Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim. (Financial Daily)

Indian telco minister A Raja said the Indian government will issue a notice inviting applications (NIA) for bids from operators by the end of this week. The auctioning of 3G spectrum would start after 45 days of issuing the notice, he added, indicating that the auction will only take place by the next fiscal starting Apr 2010.

• "NIAs will be released this week. Then, auction can take another 40-45 days," Mr Raja said. The government will auction four slots of 3G spectrum in each circle in addition to the one already allotted state-owned BSNL and MTNL, he added. (Economic Times of India)

Asiaspace has targeted at least 3,000 to 5,000 WiMAX subscribers in 1Q10, with the launch of its "amax city". (Bernama)

Notion VTec is expecting its net profit and revenue to grow by over 20% for FYE9/10, backed by its growing business. Notion VTec plans to expand its production capacity in both its Thai and Malaysian operations. "We are looking at a third factory, which is located near to our existing plants.

• Hopefully, everything will be settled and be commercially up-and-running six months from now," executive chairman Thoo Chow Fah said. For the current FY, Notion VTec has allocated some RM70m for capex. Over the longer term, the company may set up a plant in China to cater to the increasing demands from customers. However, no timeframe has been set. (BT)

Trading of LKT Industrial’s shares will be suspended upon the expiry of five market days from Feb 23, after Singapore Precision Engineering raised its stake in the company to 90.94%. (Financial Daily)

Cycle & Carriage Bintang has appointed its current chief operating officer Wong Kin Foo as its chief executive officer. The appointment will take effect from March 1. (BT)

JCY International expects to start supplying hard-disk drive (HDD) components to Hitachi Ltd and Samsung Electronics Co before FYE9/10. JCY is currently in the pre-qualification stage, which involved testing processes, with both companies and also negotiating on prices, ED James Wong said.

• The two companies have a combined 61% global market share of HDD sales and JCY hopes to increase its market penetration to about 85% from its tie-ups with Hitachi and Samsung Electronics. (Starbiz)

Malaysian commercial radio stations are taken by surprise over the government’s recent that all stations need to air new local songs, effective next month. “We are surprised by the announcement and hope to seek an audience with the minister to clarify the matter,” said Commercial Radio Malaysia (CRM) association president Datuk Borhanuddin Osman.

• Yesterday, Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim announced that all radio stations should air new songs from local singers to promote the domestic music industry. (Bernama)